Bruce doesnt date Caldwell for whatever reason. I dont think Scotty gets many more minutes, let alone starts here.
He is high motor, low skill. Soccer is a game where at some point your team needs to score goals, and having more skilled players on the field in more advanced positions should increase the number of goals your team scores, Thats the theory anyway. I still rate Scotty ahead of Zahibo, and think he is better at certain things than Diego, but Scott Caldwell is a player where offense goes to die
I think he rates him at a certain level (i.e., doesn't see him as useless). He likes him as a late-game sub. I was thinking the other day, what a great stroke of luck for Caldwell, that he now has Richie Williams as a coach. What better coach/mentor for an undersized player, limited ball-skill player at the same position! I can absolutely hear Arena telling Williams to help Caldwell become the same player he (Williams) used to be.
And in MLS thats fine. On the national team it is not, especially when his athelticism goes from above average in MLS to severely lacking compared to the players around him with the USMNT.
He doesnt rate him either The reason is easy. Caldwell is a mediocre professional soccer player. He is a USL starter and MLS substitute. Great human being - but mediocre player.
I think his passing and his vision arent up to snuff for a CM. He works hard and stays focused, but he isnt an exceptional athlete (he isnt slow either). I tend to value focus and commitment but lacking in skill over lazy and unathletic but can dribble and pass (Caldwell over Zahibo), but I can understand why a manager might decide otherwise
I agree that this seems harsh. As a youth and in College he was always an attacking player. He had never played DM before Heaps put him there. I think he made the transition because of his intelligence and has increased his physicality over time. I think I read somewhere that he is the REVs career leader in yellow cards. To me his biggest strength is his ability to read the game, something Zahibo is lacking in.
Interesting that Caldwell leads in yellows. Unfortunately, I don’t believe he intimidates anyone on the opposing team. I think Arena wants someone with “bite” in that DM position which may be why he likes Zahibo more than many of us. After all, the “AB” in Richie Williams moniker did stand for “ankle biting”. There were a lot of things to like about JJ both with us and on the national team. The fact that the attacking midfielders playing against him got skittish and were looking over their shoulders waiting to get hit was probably worth more than we gave him credit for.
At his position he needs to be able to pick a pass. Zahibo isn't perfect but can win the ball and transition quickly. Scott has a high pass percentage but they're never of the defense splitting variety. Sideways and backwards. In order to beat the press, the revs need a more dynamic CM. Scott's had plenty of opportunities but he's too methodical. Zahibo and L. Caicedo offer more going forward IMO.
What does he offer going forward? Just don't see it at the MLS level. As I said, he'd thrive in Hartford or Rochester but doesn't have the talent to start on a good team in MLS.
He does seem to take a tactical yellow in almost every significant run-out he's had. Totally agree. I think he needs some retraining - after so many years of being told to play safe, keep position, move the ball around. I don't think it's a matter of ability as much as it is of instinct at this point. But, I agree that Caicedo (better terrier) and Zahibo (more physical, better transition passer) are better options right now. In fact, I think Zahibo is very much a Shalrie Joseph type dmid, but his Achilles heel has been his focus. With a coach who has his respect and attention, I suspect that he'll be much better in that area. In fact, he already has been in recent games. This whole team has been coached (and allowed to be) plodding and methodical - and as a result they've been very easy to defend. I think Arena's biggest change has been to get them playing quicker. The simplistic view, I believe, has been that playing quicker will lead to more turnovers and, as a result, more defending. In fact, playing quicker gets players moving more without the ball and allows the team to develop a rhythm, which is the biggest factor in reducing turnovers. I would tear my hair out watching the Revs turn back at token pressure, play the ball back around the defense, get pressured some more, pass back to the keeper, who would then blast it back up field for the opposition to take back (often while pounding a mis-matched forward). Thank heavens we're not seeing that any more. I don't understand how any professional manager could think that was a good way to play.